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How to Avoid Gaining the Freshman 15

Graduating high school and preparing for your first year of college is exciting. Not only do you get to grow as a young adult, but you might even get to live away from home for the first time. In either case, it's a time of change and personal growth, especially when it comes to managing school-life balance. Being a freshman and juggling all the additional schoolwork isn't easy for everyone. 

In fact, many end up gaining weight their first year of college. After all, for beginner cooks and college freshman is there really time to plan and prepare healthy meals? If you're determined not to gain the dreaded freshman 15, this post is for you. Read on to learn insider tips on how you can ace your first year of college while eating a healthy diet.

Meal Plan

Meal planning is one of the easiest ways to avoid gaining weight in college. Even if you're on a tight budget, it's better to meal prep instead of reaching for greasy fast food or junk food from a vending machine. If you don't have a lot of money, there a few ways around having to eat only rice and beans. For starters, you can see if you qualify for any type of assistance on campus. 

If not, you can also consider getting your first credit card to take care of your monthly grocery bills. Students are usually offered cards with lower interest rates, which can make paying off your monthly balance easier. If you've never applied for a student credit card, it's a good idea to review a guide about the different types as well as reasons when you should hold off on applying.

Avoid Excess Sugar

Sugar is one of those things that your body needs. However, that doesn't mean you can easily get it through candy, ice cream and coffee drinks. The sugar within these foods is known as refined sugars. 

While consuming a little bit isn't going to do anything, eating an excess amount of sugar can cause a slew of health problems such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and even liver disease. Natural sugars, on the other hand, are a different story. Every fruit house natural sugar, which come with numerous health benefits. Here's a quick list of benefits that comes from consuming natural sugar:

• Preventing cancer
• Healthier skin
• Lowers your cholesterol levels
• Improves your gut health
• Provides a significant boost to your immune system

You’ve likely heard, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." However, it's important to not eat too many apples as the same issues apply to natural sugar if too much is consumed.

Work Out Regularly

The human body was made to move, but you'd be amazed to know how many college students are sedentary. Sitting around for hours at a stretch is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Your blood circulation is lowered and you're more at risk of excessive weight gain around your waste area. Walking is the best form of exercise there is, so there's no reason you're not walking at least 10,000 steps a day.